10 Best Lens Color For Shooting

Best Lens Color For Shooting in 2023

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The Best Rifle Cartridge for Hunting North American Game

What is the best rifle cartridge for North American hunting?

First let's get rid of one big myth about rifles. You can't randomly pick a cartridge and proclaim it king of all hunting rifles and the best cartridge available. That's non-sense, yet I see it in articles and I hear it over and over. If you're doing your homework you've seen or heard the same thing: "The 30-06 is king of all guns, absolutely the best, end of story, no questions asked" or "the 300 Ultra is the best all around rifle cartridge period." It's funny how the cartridge that the guy uses always seems to be the best isn't it?

Choosing the best rifle cartridge comes down to you, and what you like. Let's start with the single most important consideration for any cartridge: the recoil. Yes, for most hunters that's the single most important thing when selecting a rifle cartridge. How well do you handle recoil? Be honest. If you're 175 lbs of solid muscle, you'll get beat up by the same rifle that won't bother a 300 lb behemoth who has a little more cushion. In ALL cases it's best if you have a well placed shot from a smaller cartridge like a .243 Winchester than flinching and missing as you get belted from a big cartridge like a .338 Win Mag. The best shot I know openly admits to being a recoil wimp, but he has also dropped game at over 900 yards (yes, 900 yards) the last two years. I think most of us would rather be the guy who shoots accurately with a cartridge that feels good than the guy who tries to impress the boys at hunting camp with some big game monster cartridge... but routinely misses.

The best way to test the recoil of different caliber rifles is to shoot them. To get a true test it's best to shoot different cartridges with the exact same brand of rifle with the exact same action because the design of the rifle impacts the recoil quite a bit. Assuming you don't have access to a wide variety of identically configured rifles in a variety of calibers there are other options. Shoot any caliber rifle you have access to and make note of the action (bolt, semi-auto, pump), the weight of the rifle, the weight of the bullet, the grains of powder and most importantly how you felt about the recoil. Now take your notes from those rifles and the cartridges and search the web for a "recoil calculator." These tools will tell you what amount of recoil you felt from the rifle and each cartridge. You will know what is best for you and what had too much kick. You can use that number to figure out what caliber rifle is within your range of acceptable recoil and also what configuration of rifle you like best. With a little shooting, a little math and some common sense you can easily figure out what caliber rifle is too big for you to shoot and still be accurate.

What about the low end of the rifle cartridge scale? For some it might not matter but for others, especially those who have had shoulder surgery or back problems, the low end and the high end of the rifle cartridges are very close together. The rifle cartridge can play a significant role because there are often regulations about minimum rifle calibers, bullet weight, impact energy, etc. for each type of game in each state. For example, if you're going to hunt elk, some states have regulations that will prohibit the use of .243 caliber rifles while others allow it. Check out the regulations for states you may hunt in and these regulations will probably set the low end of the rifle cartridge scale for you.

If you need to make a bigger caliber rifle kick less so you can still hunt your favorite game safely and legally, it can be done through recoil reduction. One of the easiest and best ways to tame the kick from a bigger cartridge is to add a muzzle brake onto the barrel of your favorite rifle. The shots are noticeably louder because some of the gases and sound waves are ejected out the side of the brake rather than directly away from you and that makes them much easier to hear. Likewise, a good recoil pad will tame the sharp kick of a larger rifle and turn it into more of a strong push. Finally there are "managed recoil" cartridges out there for some rifle calibers. These are cartridges with less powder and a special bullet designed to perform best at the lower velocities. Reloaders can customize their rifle cartridges in a similar way to get the best performance for the least amount of recoil.

Now that we've got the upper and lower end of the rifle cartridge spectrum, you can go to the all knowing Wikipedia.org and search for a "list of rifle cartridges." This page will give you a feel for what your possibilities are. It's probably an overwhelming list and impossible to know what's best just by looking at the list, so let's narrow the search for your future rifle cartridge down just a bit more.

One important question is whether you load your own ammunition. If so, then anything is available to you. If you don't load your own rifle ammo, then it's best if you limit your search to a caliber that you can get locally. Stay away from those boutique rifle cartridges.

Yet another thing to consider is what caliber rifle other people you hunt with are using. If you've ever got up at 4:00 AM and realized that you left the ammo sitting on the counter at home and the local sport shop is closed, this becomes really important really fast. If the other guys you normally hunt with have a .308 and a 30-06, it might be best for you to give those two calibers a slight edge over that 303 British you've got your eye on. You can always borrow a few cartridges to save what would otherwise be a spoiled hunt.

Where you hunt and what you hunt are also extremely important factors in choosing the best rifle cartridge. If you're zipping long range shots at antelope or you're firing through tag alders at white tails, your best choice of rifle cartridge will be different. While you can use a .25-06 in either situation, that particular rifle cartridge is slightly better suited to long range shots for antelope than swamp busting for white tails. Narrow down your range of rifle cartridge choices by eliminating those that aren't very well suited for your primary style of hunting. If you have a steady diet of elk and moose, you want to get rid of that .243 or 25-06 and probably that .270. If you dine on antelope and white tail, it's best if you cross the 338 Win Mag of the list of potential rifles cartridges.

Beyond those few things which I consider most critical when choosing the best rifle cartridge for hunting, we quickly get into debating the merits of one cartridge over another and arguing about which one is best. For example, if you are primarily a white tail hunter, sorting out which is the best cartridge between the .270, .280, 7mm Rem Mag, .300, .308, 30-30 and 30-06 will drive you insane. The fact is that all of them are the "best" white tail rifles. They can all be uploaded to take elk and moose and down loaded for antelope. For all but the most elite shooters, there is virtually no practical difference. A well placed shot from any of those rifles will bring down virtually everything in North America. The rifle cartridge that's best is the one that makes you the best shot.

Too often people focus on choosing the best cartridge based on ballistics rather than the reality of their hunting life. Let's be honest, in most cases the rifle will outperform the shooter. If you don't believe me, just ask any guide! On an almost daily basis they deal with clients who flinch and take bad shots in spite of their gorgeous rifles, custom loads and high powered optics.

With all that said, a middle of the road cartridge like those listed above are popular for very good reasons. Those cartridges work well for most game in North America. Since they're so popular, there are many bullet options and the cartridge can easily be up-loaded and down-loaded as needed. To really get the most out of a single caliber gun you may consider reloading rifle shells or finding someone who can. This will allow you to customize your cartridges so they perform best in your gun for different size game in different hunting conditions.

Remember, when it comes time to pick out your new rifle it's best not to get caught up too much in the technical details about any given cartridge. Your rifle purchase could come down to what's available at the store or maybe your choice between three similar yet equally acceptable caliber rifles will come down to what's least expensive. In the end your personal preference and your ability to be accurate with the rifle are far more important than anything else. Picking out the best rifle for you should be fun and exciting, but most of all, it should be completely about you!

Happy hunting!